Fort Knox
by Jed Rhodes
Summary: The Third Doctor takes Jo to our time, only to discover a new plot by an old enemy, and events that he isn't even involved in yet...
1. Gold mine go boom

**A note before we begin.**

**First, the Doctor, the TARDIS, the Cybermen, the Master and UNIT are all the property of the BBc and thier respective creators, I'm just borrowing them for some weird plotting.**

**Secondly - someone wrote a review complaining about my use of the modern series' UNIT definition - UNified Intelligence Taskforce - as opposed to the classic United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, and though I would have replied to that review individually, I can't because it was anon. So, I'm adding this to my first chapter. **

**This fan fic is meant to represent the time of the modern series, with a classic Doctor thrown in the mix, and as such, some things (such as UNified) will have to work. I provide an explanation for the discrepancy in this story, but apart from that, I stick to the series definition because I want to keep this as close to canon as possible. So, I'm sorry if you're offended, but that is why, and I don't see why people should take offence at that.**

**Thank you for choosing to read this story.**

--

A gold mine, in the mountains.

That was where Donald McHogue worked, and he was proud of the fact. For twenty years, he had worked there, and in that time, he had risen from simple miner to site manager, and he was still on the rise. At the rate he was going, he believed that he would become overall manager of Thomson Mining Corps within a year or two.

There had been hard times, pitfalls and setbacks – and disasters. But always, he had led his men to survive it. And he would do so again.

"Where're Jimbo and Bob?!" he asked his deputy manage, Tom Wilkins, a youngish man with some dirt always on his face. One day, Donald would have to ask why.

"They went down into the mine about an hour ago – we've not seen head nor tale of them since. Why d'ya ask Don?"

Donald looked down at the mine entrance.

"Well," he replied, "they seem to be there now, so I can talk to them about it."

At the entrance, a lift had come up. There were two figures inside it.

"Hey guys!" yelled Tom. "Guys!"

"They're taller than I remember..." mumbled Donald.

That was the last thing he said before the entire managerial building exploded under concentrated fire from the two figures. Tom's last thought was that he would never know what Donald wanted to talk to Jimbo and Bob for. Donald's last thought was... unrepeatable.

One of them stepped forward, and looked around.

"The area is clear?" it asked.

"Affirmative," it's comrade replied. "Report in to command."

"Affirmative," the first figure said. It reported in to it's commander, and then both of the figures slowly faded away...

--

The Doctor prodded the button, and poked it.

"Well," he said at last, "I didn't put it there."

"If you didn't, then who did?" asked Jo. "It's not like the TARDIS just grew it there itself..."

The Doctor gave her a look that plainly said 'that's just what the TARDIS _did_ do, my dear.'

Jo ploughed on. "I mean, no matter how many times you sday it, I will never believe that a machine can be alive..."

Living machines are quite common," the Doctor said, standing up and walking over to the flight controls. "The Cybermen, for example... human once, they are now almost entirely robotic, apart from their highly modified human brains. Yet they're still alive."

Jo shuddered. She'd heard the stories about the metal men, and hoped never to meet them.

"They sound horrible," she said.

"They are," the Doctor said. "I've been fortunate in this incarnation never to meet them, and perhaps I shall never meet them again."

He looked wistfully into the imaginary distance. Maybe he never would see them again. Then again, he probably would. They would always survive, it was all they existed to do – continue existing. Living because they were afraid of dying, not because they wanted to do something with their lives.

The Doctor sighed. He was already seven hundred years old, and knew that near eternal life could be a pain in various delicate areas.

He shook himself back to the present, and pressed the new button.

Immediately, the TARDIS materialisation noise shook the room. The rotor slowed in its rise and fall, and finally clunked to a halt.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that was unexpected," he said.

"Yeah," Jo replied, freaked out by this turn of events. "What do we do?"

"I'm not sure..." the Doctor said. "Still, when in doubt, look about, as the wandering time lord handbook says."

"There's a wandering time lord handbook?" Jo asked, bemused.

"Yes, there is," the Doctor said, walking out of the door. As he left, he shot back over his shoulder:

"I wrote it."

--

Harold Saxon sat down at the MOD, and sighed. Another boring day of reading boring dossiers and writing boring speeches to boring people...

_Duh duh duh duh._

He banged his fist against the table. The drumming was the last thing he wanted. He could not stand them any more, they were getting louder and louder...

_Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh. Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh. Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh._ _Duh duh duh duh_

"Argh!" he yelled, turning over the table.

Wait a minute...

_**Dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum.**_

That was the drumming as it had been years ago... when he'd faced the Doctor in that annoying third incarnation, with that irritating Jo Grant...

What could these drums returning possibly mean...?

Oh...

"Oh no you don't!" the Master yelled, immediately picking up his phone and placing a call...

--

"Well Doctor..." Jo said, shaking her head slowly, "somehow, I get the feeling that we're in trouble."

They were surrounded by armed men, all in urban camouflage scheme, all grim faced, all aiming big futuristic looking weapons at them.

"Somehow I think you're right, Jo," the Doctor said. "Still, that chap looks like he's in charge. Should all be resolved soon, especially if he's with UNIT."

Another man walked forward. He was tall, with silver hair and a grey beard.

"I'm John Cooper. Welcome to Torchwood Four."


	2. Reapers, Donean D's and Torchwood Four

The Master looked out of the window at the country he served – supposedly.

_**Dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum.**_

The old style drums went backwards and forwards through his head, and his fingers tapped along, almost of their own volition.

_**Dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum didda dum dum, didda dum dum didda dum dum...**_

He shook his head to clear his mind of the drumming and focused on the task at hand.

If the old Doctor was here, he had to contain him. The Doctor's Third incarnation was not known for it's patience, and if he found out that the Master was here, in any capacity, then he'd ruin all theplans the Master had at his disposal, without realising that he was messing with time – a time when They could no longer help him, or the universe. The Master was well aware of the damage the Reapers could do in this place, and wasn't particularly inclined to witness it first hand.

Now, to get to the Doctor. He knew where he was, and how to get there, but actually stopping him...

Well. Deal with that when you come to it…

-----------------------------------------------

"Torchwood?" the Doctor echoed. He had found himself in a large room, with dozens of armed men facing him, and a man in a suit addressing him. Not good. Still, he'd do what he always did, and improvise.

"Four," john Cooper added. "This is Torchwood Four."

"Never heard of you old chap," the Doctor shrugged, "so forgive me if I'm not 'ooh'ing and 'aah'ing at your claim."

"You aren't meant to know," Cooper replied. "You're the enemy."

A beat. Jo edged closer to the Doctor.

"The enemy?" the Doctor repeated after a moment. "Well, you haven't exactly treated me like one..."

"Well," Cooper said, moving his arm expansively, "_technically,_ you're the enemy, but these days some random law Queen V laid down x-hundred years ago hardly counts."

"Queen Victoria?" the Doctor said, creasing his eyebrows confusedly, the look Jo called his 'confused professor (which, along with his pee-ed of in the extreme, his stroke of genius and his fatherly look, she had categorized down as something to study intently for tips). "I met her, and she never mentioned that she hated me..."

"Ah," Cooper nodded slowly. "Well, that's where the whole 'Blinovish Limitation Effect comes in..."

"Blinovitch," the Doctor corrected.

"Blinovitch," Cooper nodded, "so we can't tell you. Anyway, enough chat, come with us."

"What?" the Doctor yelped.

"Come. With. Us." Cooper repeated, slowly, as if he was talking to an idiot. "Now."

"No!" the Doctor shouted. "I'm the Doctor, and I won't be caged by any secret organization!"

"We aren't going to cage you," Cooper shouted back. "You can help us, and besides which, I am not Yvonne Hartman, by any stretch of the imagination."

"I don't know who that is," the Doctor replied, quieter, "nor do I care, but should ask before you make bold assumptions that I'm going to help you!"

"Fine," Cooper sighed. "Will you please help us, Doctor?"

The Doctor drew himself to his considerable height, raised an eyebrow imperiously, and looked down his nose at Cooper.

"Yes," he said, and stalked off out of a random door.

"Not that way Doctor," Cooper yelled. He promptly came back, and went through another door. Cooper sighed and followed him, as did his troops.

Jo was left there standing.

"Will someone," she said, very calmly, "please tell me what the hell is going on?"

-----------------------------------------

"Mr Saxon sir," the sentry saluted, as the Master walked by. He had arrived five minutes ago, and marched in like he owned the place – an approach that he and the Doctor both used.

The Master nodded, too intent on where he was going to pay much attention to some grunt.

"Mr Saxon, sir!" another barked as he entered the building. Again the Master nodded.

A man in a suit came and held his hand out. The Master took it, and nodded.

"Mr Saxon, sir," the man in the suit said. "So glad you ca – "

"Cut the pleasantries," the Master snapped. "The Doctor is here, yes?"

"Yes sir," the Suit replied. "He arrived about thirty minutes ago, and has been appraised of the situation..."

"Hm," the Master said. "I want to see him."

"Of course, sir," the Suit said. "Follow me."

-------------------------------------------------------------

"How many?" the Doctor asked calmly.

"One hundred and forty three gold mines, repositories, smelting works... anything with gold in it," Cooper replied. "Who do you think it is?"

"Well, it's either Donateans," the Doctor replied, "or –"

"Don – what's?" Cooper asked.

"Donateans!" the Doctor snapped. "A species that sells gold for highly extravagant prices. They're highly monopolised, and would do anything to maintain it. Course, it's probably not them, their trademark Donatean _**D**_ hasn't been found at any of the sites – has it?"

"What's their '_**D**_'?" asked Cooper.

"A sort of..." the Doctor made a squiggly shape in the air. "It's usually branded in large print into the bodies of their victims."

"Nothing of that sort has been found," a Torchwood medical expert said.

"Well then, there is only one race it could be," the Doctor sighed grimly.

"Who?" Cooper asked.

"Yeah, Doctor, who?" asked Jo, who was getting slightly less confused. Slightly.

"The –"

The Doctor was interrupted by a man in a suit bursting through the door. The Doctor focused on him and thought he saw something familiar...

"I'm looking for the Doctor," the man said, his voice authoritarian and strict, but with a slight Manchester twinge… then it clicked in the Doctor's mind. The tinge of some alien accent, the familiarity, the black suit, the swagger, the eyes...

"The Master," the Doctor said.

"The Master?" Cooper repeated. "I've heard of him, but I was under the impression he was a bit less covert than this."

"Well," the Doctor said calmly. "Covert is an acquired taste, and you acquire a lot during regeneration."

The man in a suit walked up to him.

"We need –," he began.

"To talk, yes," the Doctor replied. "About what, though? Old times? Gold mines?"

"Reapers?" the man in the suit said.

"What?" the Doctor said, startled.

"You know, big flappy things?" the Master said, waving his arms. "You know? Eats people?"

"Yes I know," the Doctor snapped. "What I don't know is what you're on about."

"We need to talk," the Master muttered to him. "Alone."

"So you can kill me?" the Doctor snarled quietly.

"So I can help you," the Master countered. "It isn't me who your here to sort out, whatever you might think."

"How can I trust you?" the Doctor asked, annoyed.

"You can't," the Master replied. "You never can. But you can listen to me. It's something dangerous these people are up against."

"Reapers?" the Doctor guessed.

"No," the Master said. "Something you aren't supposed to meet in this incarnation – at least, not in your normal timeline."

"What?!" the Doctor yelped, ignoring the stares from Cooper and Jo. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"A lot of temporal damage is done to this incarnation," the Master said. "It's all in Their records. You get pulled out of time, your regeneration gets knackered... this, however, was not part of that rather overlong list."

"You've altered time, then?" the Doctor whispered, aghast. "They'll –"

"They'll do nothing, they can't," the Master said. "The Time Lords are gone!"

The instant he said that, the Master regretted it. The Doctor stood still as stone, staring at him like he was mad, but at the same time, he was afraid...

"No," he said, sounding a lot less confident than his words made him out to be. "They can't be."

"They are," the Master confirmed. "At least, I can't find them. But that's beside the point, the point s that you shouldn't be here, and you have to go."

"And leave you in a prominent position on Earth to do who knows what?!" the Doctor whispered heatedly. "Never!"

"It isn't your problem, you aren't my incarnation of the Doctor," the Master whispered back, getting annoyed at this old/young man who kept bloody contradicting him. "This is not your timeline. You can't interfere."

"I have to," the Doctor said. "I'm part of events now, I cannot leave."

The Master held a finger up at him, pointing furiously, but thought better of it.

"Fine," he muttered dejectedly. "Just don't mess around with my plans."

"Wouldn't dare," the Doctor replied innocently. "You know me."

"Exactly," the Master muttered. "Shall we get back to it?"

"Yes," the Doctor said, before sweeping back over to Cooper.

"What was all that about?" the beleaguered Torchwood man asked.

"None of your concern," the Master replied. "Now then, Doctor... do you have any idea who is behind the... current situation?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded. "The only people – if they can be called that – ho would have anything to gain from destroying Earths gold."

"Who?" asked Jo. What the Doctor said scared everyone there – even the Master.

"Cybermen."


	3. Cybermen!

"It can't be," Cooper murmured in shock. "They're all dead."

"Hardly," the Doctor replied, grimly. "There are still many Cybermen left out there, I'm afraid, waiting for a chance to invade."

"But they were all destroyed!" the Torchwood IV C.O countered, frantically, as if he didn't want to believe what the Doctor was telling him. "It's impossible!"

"All destroyed?" the Doctor repeated, raising an eyebrow at the man. "What on earth...?"

The Master leaned forward, and whispered in his ear from behind.

"You aren't up to current events, old chum," he explained. "There've been some changes. Don't question, just tell the dumb humans why it's the Cybermen so you can do your thing."

The Doctor scowled at him with distaste, and turned back to Cooper.

"They aren't extinct. This is them," he insisted. The Torchwood C.O looked unconvinced, but the Doctor pressed on. "These are the Cybermen who are attacking, and this plan appears to be quite ambitious..."

"What is their plan?" a Suit asked from behind. "All they've done is attack mines, factories, smelting works, warehouses... there's no pattern, no reasoning…"

"What have all those things got in common?" asked the Doctor impatiently. He wanted the Torchwood men to figure it out for themselves. He already knew, of course, but it would be nice for them to get it.

The Suit shook his head after a minute, but Cooper scratched his head, and opened his mouth as if to speak.

"Gold?" he asked tentatively. The Doctor nodded encouragingly.

"What d'you mean boss?" asked the Suit.

"All the places that have been attacked have been stuffed with Gold!" Cooper continued, with more enthusiasm. "Gold mines, warehouses for jewellery shops, smelting factories...!"

"Yes, exactly," the Doctor nodded, smiling at him. "That's exactly right. The Cybermen, or some models, anyway, are highly allergic to gold. It clogs up their oxygen intake and kills them within seconds."

"But why didn't they attack before?" asked Cooper. "I mean, when the last lot of Cybermen appeared."

"Different factions, probably," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "They never care to look out for each other, and each model of Cybermen believes that it's the best, the most powerful, the worthiest. Stupid mentality for a logical race, if you ask me..."

"What do we do Doctor?" asked Jo, scared. She'd heard bad things about Cybermen. "We don't know what their plans are, we don't know how many there are..."

"Well, we know what the most obvious target is for this lovely plan," the Doctor replied. "Fort Knox, in America."

"Fort what?" asked Cooper.

The Doctor slapped himself in the face. The Master smiled as the words "idiots" and "IQ of a politician" came out in garbled mutters, together with several words that the Master recognised as Gallifreyan swearing. He grinned to himself.

"Fort Knox is the Americans largest single repository of Gold," the Doctor finally explained, slowly, as if he was talking to a bunch of idiots. Which, to the Master's mind at least, he was. "Scratch that, it's the world's largest single repository. It has about – oh how much was it? - 4,570 metric tonnes or thereabouts of gold. Thereabouts. It's officially called the United States Bullion Depository, if that's any help."

"It's not," the Suit said simply.

"That's where the Cybermen are going to go?" Cooper asked.

"Definitely," the Doctor replied, with certainty in his voice. "I have no doubt in my mind."

"So what do we do?" asked Jo. "We can't just tell the Americans, they'd never believe us."

"Well," the Master said, "I suppose that -"

"No," the Doctor said before the other Time Lord could finish. "Whatever you say, it's wrong."

"Excuse me," the Suit said, "show some respect to Mr Saxon, he's the minister for defence you know!"

The Doctor turned an eyebrow up at the Master, who shrugged.

"Guys gotta make a living," he sighed. Cooper shook his head, as if he hadn't heard that, then stared at the Doctor for a moment.

"So," he said. "What the heck do we do, since you obviously won't listen to the man who can get the Americans to listen?"

"Doesn't the UN still have a military presence in America?" the Doctor asked.

"Not since Iraq," the suit said. "They've been somewhat uncooperative, even with us."

"What about Lethbridge Stewart?" the Doctor asked.

"Retired," Cooper said. "Lives in the country with -"

"Doris," the Doctor finished, "yes I remember. Besides which, this is the future, he might know things about me that I don't want to know."

"So what do we do, Doctor?" asked Jo. The Time Lord thought about it for a minute. Could he really trust the Master? Did he have a choice?

"Well, Jo," he said slowly, after a while, "I think it's time to go with the old adage."

He turned to the Master, his features grim set, and held out his hand. The other Time Lord stared at it for a moment, and then grasped it.

"What adage would that be, Doctor?" he asked, not quite believing what was happening.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," the Doctor replied grimly. "You don't want the Cybermen to succeed any more than I do."

The Master nodded. This was one of those times when the Doctor was quite right.

"So now what?" asked Cooper.

"We go with Mr…" the Doctor began, then glanced at the Master quizzically.

"Saxon," the Master told him helpfully.

"We go with Mr Saxon's idea," the Doctor said. "And hope we're not too late."

Cooper and the Suit nodded.

Jo looked from the Doctor to Mr Saxon and back again. She thought something was up.

"Do you two know each other?" she asked at last.

The Doctor looked at the Master. The Master looked back at the Doctor. Then they shrugged as one.

"Long story," the Doctor said at last.

"Very long," the Master concurred.

* * *

On a screen, the decision the two had made was being watched by cold, dead eyes. Brains adapted to remove all weakness were thinking about what they had heard and seen. Steel bodies began moving.

The designated commander of this operation turned to it's immediate subordinate.

"**This is an unexpected turn of events,**" it said. "**The Doctor's presence jeopardises all our plans and his alliance with Torchwood only further jeopardises them.**"

"**This is correct,"** the Subordinate said. "**What are your orders?**"

"**This turn of events is unprecedented, and calls for immediate action," **the Cyberleader said. "**We must accelerate our plans. Take a taskforce and destroy Torchwood Four, but bring the Doctor to me alive. He must be interrogated."**

"**Leader," **the Cyber Lieutenant acknowledged. It turned to carry out the orders it had been given.

The Cyberleader considered its plans. This was indeed an unprecedented turn of events. The Doctor should not be here. They had timed their invasion perfectly, after the Doctor had already thwarted an attempted invasion of this world by an inferior faction of alternate universe Cybermen. Their knowledge of him indicated that he would not return so quickly to the Earth.

Obviously, they had been mistaken. But it didn't matter. They would destroy Torchwood, capture the Doctor, and all would be well.

The world would be saved.


	4. Attack of the Cybermen

The Doctor and the Master strode down the corridor towards Cooper's office, Cooper and Jo trying to keep up with these two Time Lords on a mission.

"Here's a question for you," Cooper said. "How the hell do we convince the Americans that the Cybermen are coming for Fort Knox?"

"That part I'm leaving to your Minister here," the Doctor said grimly, jabbing a thumb at the Master, who smiled.

"I wouldn't worry about it Mr Cooper," the Master said. "I've got a very persuasive personality."

The Doctor snorted. The Master ignored him and went to the phone, and the Doctor sat down.

"Doctor?" Jo asked, "Who is that man?"

"Harold Saxon, Jo," the Doctor replied. "This time periods Minister for Defence."

"Do you know him?" Jo asked.

"Know him?" the Doctor said. "Well…"

He considered telling her, but she was only dimly aware of Regeneration, and would probably be very confused by it all.

"No, I just don't like politicians in general," he said at last. It was true enough, they never did anything but interfere. That Chinn was one, annoying little…

"Right," the Master was saying over the phone. "Well, I'm glad you agree with me. We'll send over some specialists shortly. Bye bye, now."

He hung up the phone and gave a big thumbs up to the Doctor, combined with a cheesy grin. The Doctor sighed.

"So that's it?" Cooper said. "We're ready to go?"

"Get some troops together, and get 'em on a plane," the Master replied. "They're going to America!"

At that point, an explosion rocked the building. Dust fell from the ceiling, and Cooper looked up in shock.

"What the hell?" he said, confused to all high heaven.

A squad of troopers ran down the corridor, heading for further along. One of them, a man with Sergeants stripes, stopped next to Cooper and saluted.

"Sir," he said, "the buildings under attack. Dozens of metal men are inside. Are they…?"

"Cybermen," the Doctor said at once, standing up. "They must have planted a bug on someone in this place, and found out where you were!"

"We'll hold them," Cooper nodded. "Cybermen may be many things, but a few bazooka's and particle guns'll take them out."

"Particle guns?" the Doctor said, shocked. "You shouldn't have particle guns!"

"You'd be amazed what comes down," Cooper replied with a smug grin, before heading off. The Master looked at him, and smiled.

"So would he," he said wryly. "Anyway, shall we go?"

"Go?!" the Doctor snapped. "Go where?!"

"Fort Knox of course," the Master said. "I happen to know for a fact that this place is screwed."

Jo looked from one to another in confusion.

"We can't just leave them," Jo said at last. "They need our help!"

The Doctor looked at Jo, then back to the Master.

"She's right; I won't leaver this place to be destroyed."

The Master slapped himself in the face.

"Fine," he said. "Come on then."

They ran to help.

--

It was in the main lobby where they first got a sight of the Cybermen.

They were tall, the colours of burnished silver, their helmet/heads were enlarged and they had thin piping running along their bodies. Their faces were cold and impassive, with little teardrop holes beneath their eyes. They had guns implanted into their heads, and bulky chest units on their torsos.

The Torchwood troops were shooting away at them, but they were having no effect. They were being decimated. As the horrified Doctor and Jo (and the somewhat indifferent Master) watched, the Torchwood men were wiped out.

"I have a plan," the Master said.

"Oh yes?" the Doctor asked. "Which is?"

"You do something," the Master said. "Mr Sanctimonious. Help the humans out."

"While you…?" the Doctor said.

"Think of something absolutely amazing."

"Why can't you do it now?" The Doctor hissed.

"You can't rush genius," the Master shrugged. The Doctor groaned, and stepped out to face the Cybermen.

"Hello!" he called. "I take it you mean to kill everyone in this building?"

The Cybermen stopped what they were doing, and, as one, stared at the Doctor. He smiled, and rubbed his nose with his forefinger.

"Well, look chaps," he said, "I hate to be a bit wet, but you lot aren't really allowed to go around conquering worlds…"

"We are not conquering," one Cyberman said – the Cyberleader, the Doctor noted, judging by the black handles on his head. "We are here to save this world."

It's voice was metallic and monotonic.

"By killing its people?" the Doctor asked, sarcastically. "Yes, they'll really love you for that. They'll be an international Cyberman day."

"Irrelevant," the Cyberleader said. "We will convert your planet."

"Erm… it's not my planet," the Doctor said. "I'm more of a… tourist, really."

"Identify yourself," the Cyberleader said.

"I am the Doctor," the Doctor said. The Cyberleader immediately walked right up to him.

"Repeat that," it said.

"I," the Doctor said, very slowly, as if he was talking to a retarded child, "am, the Doctor."

The Cyberleader stared at him for a moment, then grabbed him by the shoulder. The Doctor grimaced in pain, but was unable to get free, and together, they both teleported away.

"No!" Jo Grant yelled, jumping out from her hiding place. The Cybermen all turned as one to look at her, and the Master jumped out as well.

"Nice work Miss Grant," he snarled, "really, great work."

He took out his laser screwdriver, and shot the first Cyberman down in an instant. The Cybermen returned fire, but the Master and Jo ducked. The Master shot another Cyberman down, then dragged Jo out of the room with him. The Cybermen followed, shooting after them.

--

Somewhere in Earths orbit, the Doctor and the Cyberleader materialised on a space ship. The Cyberleader let go of the Doctor, and he collapsed to the floor, in pain – the Cyberleader had nearly crushed his collarbone.

"Stand," a cold, metallic voice sounded through the room. Unlike the purely monotonic voices that the other Cybermen had, this voice had different inflections. "Stand now."

The Doctor slowly got to his feet.

"Hello," he said. "I take it you're the one in charge here."

"This is correct," the voice said. Another Cyberman stepped forward, only this one was taller, with less piping, and an enlarged head stepped forward. The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"You should be dead," he said softly.

The Cybercontroller was now fully in the light.

"I am not, Doctor," it said. "I am here, functional, and I will lead the Cybermen to save humanity."


	5. Escape

The Master and Jo watched the Cybermen rampage through Torchwood. They'd be lucky if anyone escaped this slaughter.

"Marvellous," the Master said. "Come on, we're gonna escape."

"What about the Doctor?!" Jo yelled. The Master sighed – he'd forgotten how irritating she could be. If it weren't for the fact that killing her would spark a paradox and annoy the Doctor – the wrong Doctor – he would have already done so a long time ago.

"He's more resilient than you give him credit for," the Master said. "And he can't die, at least, not in this incarnation."

He closed his eyes. The time line was altering even as he spoke. He remembered… the Doctor, yes, the Doctor would surely survive. His memories had not altered that much.

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"You'll see."

He opened his eyes, and looked at Jo.

"He'll be fine, now unless you want to die, come with me!" he yelled.

She followed him, and they quickly got to the emergency escape hatch.

--

"So what am I doing here?" the Doctor asked. The Cybermen were dragging him to a holding cell – he presumed.

"You are a rogue element," the Cybercontroller said. "Your actions are unpredictable. They must be halted."

"I haven't even done anything yet," the Doctor protested.

"You will," the Controller said. "Judging from your previous actions, and a reasonable extrapolation of your personality…"

"Pah!" the Doctor scoffed. "You wouldn't know personality if someone downloaded the dictionary definition into your heads."

"Nonetheless," the Controller countered, "judging from what we know of you, you will attempt to interfere."

"What if I promise I won't?" the Doctor asked, putting on as polite and 'nice guy' a voice as this incarnation could.

"Irrelevant," the Cybercontroller said. "You will be kept here until such time as the conversion of Earth is complete."

"Oh," the Doctor said. "Well, could you at least tell me what you're planning?"

"Negative," the Controller said. "Extrapolation indicates that you would use such information to your advantage."

"Well, let me guess," the Doctor said. "You destroy all the gold mines, so that humanity can't mine it for ages. You blow up the warehouses, so that they can't use any they've stockpiled. And then you invade, concentrating on Fort Knox at first, blowing it to kingdom come – thus A: destroying yet more gold, and B: proving your strength. Then you just waltz on and conquer the rest of the world. It's a bit of a silly plan."

"Incorrect, Doctor," the Controller said. "Humanity is no match for Cybermen. We will conquer them – to save them from themselves."

"Save them?" the Doctor repeated. "How can destroying their humanity save them?"

"They are afraid," the Controller said. "They fear the dark. They fear the cold. They fear death. We can set them free."

"No, you can't," the Doctor said. "You can imprison them, in a cold metal shell, so that a bunch of memories live on in a cold, logical brain, but you cannot give them what humanity needs."

"Which is?" the Controller queried.

"Freedom," the Doctor said. "You can't give them freedom. Or love. Or joy. Or happiness. Or fulfilment. In the end, the only thing you can give them is a shiny new paint job."

"You are incorrect, Doctor," the Controller said. "We can give them freedom. Freedom from hate. From jealousy. From all the things that have destroyed their race."

"They won't see it that way," the Doctor said. "Even if you can convince yourself, you'll never convince them."

The Controller didn't waste any more time talking to the Doctor. It simply threw him into a cell, and locked the door behind it. The Doctor stared at it for a moment, then calmly took out his sonic screwdriver, and unlocked the door. Cybermen were useless at locks.

--

The Master led Jo out of the secret exit. He'd built half of the MOD buildings recently, and Torchwood Fours new abode was one. Nobody had known where Torchwood Four had gone, but the Master, and Cooper and his secret organization had been more than happy to oblige him.

"What about Cooper and the others?" Jo asked. "We can't just leave them!"

"We can," the Master said, "and we just did."

"But…"

"Torchwood has this annoying habit of getting most of it' members killed in unpleasant ways," the Master said. "Usually by Cybermen. It's rather annoying."

As they walked, various SUV's and Jeeps were being filled by fleeing Torchwood personnel. Cooper was amongst them.

"Sir," he saluted the Master. "We got abut forty or fifty people out, together with some of the tech, and we're evacuating for the emergency base."

"What about the tech you left behind?" asked the Master.

"We've set the building to self destruct as soon as we leave, sir," Cooper smiled. "Where's the Doctor?"

The Master looked at Jo, who was seemingly close to crying, then back to Cooper.

"The Cybermen captured him," he said. Cooper blanched.

"Does the conversion technology work on Time Lords sir?" he asked.

"Not that I know of," the Master said. "But we don't know."

"He'll be alright," Jo cried, suddenly. The Master looked at her, and sighed. He'd forgotten how weepy she could be. "He just has to be!"

--

The Doctor entered the transmat room. He had managed to avoid all the guards, and now he was here…

A Cyberman was at the console. The Doctor held up his sonic screwdriver, and clicked it on. The Cyberman jerked, sparked, and collapsed. The Doctor walked over to it, and stood silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry," he said.

He activated the switch, and walked over to the transmat booth. There was always a time delay on auto transmat, but he could wait.

Then, without warning, the Cyberleader and three guards burst in.

"Surrender now," they said. They didn't shoot him, though, and the Doctor knew why. They couldn't risk damaging the equipment.

"Stay back!" he yelled, holding his sonic over a console, "or I'll use my sonic screwdriver to zap these controls to oblivion!"

They didn't move.

"You will not escape," the Leader said at last. The Doctor felt the familiar tug of transmat coming over him, and he smiled.

"You know what?" he said. "I beg to differ."

He vanished, as the Cybermen watched.

"Locate him," the Leader said, "and destroy him immediately."

--

The Master looked up at the familiar noise of a transmat device hummed around him. Without warning, the Doctor materialised a few feet away. Jo threw herself at him instantly.

"Oh Doctor! I thought you were dead!" she cried.

"Well, I very nearly was!" the Doctor replied. "But you know me, it'll take more than some monster to finish me off."

No, it'll take radiation from Metebelis Three, the Master thought sarcastically. Out loud he said "what happened to you?"

"I escaped," the Doctor said. "What happened here?"

"Well," the Master said, "Some of the Torchwood personnel escaped, and are heading for an emergency base…"

"Get them together," the Doctor said. "We're off to America."

"Fort Knox?" Jo asked.

"Fort Knox," the Doctor confirmed, with a nod of his head.


	6. Fort Knox

**Sorry this has taken me so long to put up, but school has been a bit of a pain. Enjoy.**

**--**

The Doctor strode down the ramp, Jo walking quickly to try and catch up to him. The Master walked behind, grimacing slightly. Behind them were twenty of Torchwoods finest troops – not that that was saying much, since they were the only Torchwood troopers to survive the massacre. Cooper was also with them, looking around in wonder – he'd never left Britain.

Ahead of them, a man in a suit and twelve guards waited for them. The man walked forward and extended his hand to the Master, ignoring everyone else.

"Mr Saxon," he said. "I'm Coleman Winters, President Elect."

"And I'm not interested," the Master replied, ignoring the proffered hand. "We're not here to help you, this is a strictly U.N matter."

"Are UNIT present?" the Doctor asked.

"This is American soil," Winters replied, slightly miffed by the two Time Lords' (not that he knew that bit) attitude. "And I wasn't about to let the blue helmets around here."

"UNIT aren't the blue helmets anymore," Cooper reminded the American. "They're under Unified control."

"Doesn't matter," the Doctor said. "In a few hours, the Cybermen will be here…"

"And our men are well versed in fighting them," Winters said. "The last invasion taught us a lot."

"This'll be a different breed," the Master said. "More advanced, more powerful."

"We can handle them," Winters insisted, raising his voice slightly.

"I highly doubt it."

The Doctor stalked off, leaving the two men to their pettiness. He sighed at the thought of the Master degenerating into a politician, and it almost made him nostalgic for his own, slick, charming enemy. Still, he would have this situation done with soon, hopefully, and then it was back to the Brigadier, tea, and Axons, Daleks and various other monsters that he could deal with without the paradoxes, intrigue and secret alliances with enemies, and who knew what else…

"Doctor?" Jo asked. "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" the Doctor replied, turning to her. "Well, I suppose I'm fine. I could be better, but once we get back to the Brigadier, and our own -"

He stopped himself. He was actually thinking of the UNIT base as home, of that period - the seventies, or was it the eighties; he wasn't sure - as his time period. He shuddered, almost imperceptibly.

" - our own time period, I'll be fine," he finished.

The Master glanced over at him, and the Doctor swore that he had a slightly compassionate expression on his face - then he turned away. The Doctor shook his head and thought nothing of it.

--

Fort Knox was to all intents and purposes the strongest fortified location you could imagine - certainly it was capable of holding out against attack from regular foes. But, as the Doctor and the Master well knew, the Cybermen were no regular enemies.

The Doctor had set up a special teleport inhibitor, to prevent the sort of attack that had destroyed Torchwood Four. He wasn't about to let that happen again, not on his watch. Too many had died.

Winters had, after some talking, decided to go away and leave the Torchwood men to it. The Doctor suspected that the Master had 'persuaded' him to go, but he didn't mind. The last thing he wanted or needed was a Politician running around.

"Do you actually need me here?" the Master asked him. "I'm not really much good at this saving the world schtick that you've perfected so well over the years."

"Good for you," the Doctor replied. "But I'm not letting you out of my sight, not while I'm here. You could do too much damage."

"You can't interfere," the Master said. "And for all you know, I could've done my damage."

"True - but you can't stop me from trying to limit you," the Doctor countered.

The Master glared at him, and stalked away, moodily.

"What's up with him?" Jo asked as she walked over to the Doctor from where she had been, talking with Cooper.

"Mr Saxon," the Doctor said slowly, "doesn't agree with my politics."

"But you don't like politics," Jo pointed out.

"Exactly," the Doctor smiled.

--

Cyberleader One Alpha surveyed it's tactical display as it's troops armed themselves, recharging their various head weaponry.

"Leader," one of it's subordinates said. "We are prepared to launch our assault upon the humans position."

"Excellent," the Cyberleader said. "We will attack immediately, once the Controller has approved."

It switched it's communications on, and sent a signal to the Controllers Battleship in orbit.

"Cyberleader One Alpha to command. Request permission to assault the human base."

--

On the ship, the Controller was quite, unusually for an alien invader, watching the six o'clock news on the BBC.

All the humans lives were dominated by suffering. It was truly pitiful - if it could have felt pity. No, the Controller thought. The Doctor is wrong - we are helping them.

"This is the Controller. Attack at will."

--

Private Aaron Andrews checked his survey. Despite his C.O's orders, he couldn't see how anyone could dare attack Fort Knox. It was the ultimate in design and fortification.

"Anything?" his friend Daniels asked him.

"Naw," Andrews replied. "Nothing. Don't know what the Cap was on about..."

"Yeah well, orders are orders, I suppose," Daniels said. "It's all very weird though, isn't it?"

Andrews shrugged and checked his binoculars. There seemed to be some movement in the left flank, so he refocused, and got a closer look.

The closer look translated as a large number of silver figures heading for the base. He watched the perimeter guard posts fall to some sort of laser guns, then turned sharply to Daniels.

"We're under attack, signal the Captain. Unidentified silver-coloured intruders."

Daniels nodded, and ran to the communications position further back. Andrews turned back to the sight, grabbed his gun, and aimed...

--

In the command office, the Doctor turned as a Sergeant ran in.

"Captain Brooks sir!" he yelled. "Enemy at the perimeter!"

"Roger that," Captain Brooks, the man in charge said. He nodded to the other field commanders in the room, who rushed off to get their men ready.

The Doctor only waited. He looked at the Master, who shrugged.

"What's the plan now, genius?" he asked.

"I have one," the Doctor said, "but I need at least fifteen minutes to implement it."

"My men will give you that, sir," Brooks assured the Doctor.

"And my men," Cooper added, "will help."

The Doctor nodded, then walked off, looking slightly forlorn. The Master watched him go, and sighed. He had forgotten how up for self sacrifice the Doctor could be.

"Poor sap," he muttered.

His mobile phone beeped in his pocket. He looked at it, and saw that it was his wife, Lucy. Lovely woman, for a human, he supposed, but she was only human, as much his slave as the rest ought to be – and would be, if his plan was successful – which he knew it would be, since his always would be without the Doctor. His Doctor. The depressingly young, depressingly handsome, depressingly everything he hadn't been at the time. But he'd sorted that – he'd regenerated into a body more suitable for his purpose. And boy, did it feel good.

--

The Doctor flicked a switch on the apparatus he'd been working on. It was, to all intents and purposes, the worst piece of junk he'd ever built – but it would do.

An EMP device. The only hope that they had against this final threat.


	7. The Doctor and the Master

Life, such as it was, was not so bad, he thought.

Yes, he was about to go into battle once more against the deadly Cybermen, but he'd beaten them before, and would doubtless do so again now.

The Master was a complication. Obviously. But, fact was, it wasn't his problem. He hadn't been willing to admit that, but it was true. It was not his problem.

He finished tinkering with the EMP device. Tinkering. It was always his greatest love. This incarnation was a gadget man born of necessity – practicality was always important when you were trying to make a locked TARDIS go.

He sensed the Master before anything else, and span to face him.

He was aiming a small weapon at the Doctor, a look of intense anger on his face.

"Revised TCE?" the Doctor asked.

"Not quite," the Master said, "but it doesn't matter. Oh the times when I wanted you dead, Doctor," he added softly. "I want you dead, gone, out of my way, ceased, desisted, gone. How I wish I could just kill you now, spare myself the pain..."

"Then why not do it?" the Doctor asked.

"Because," the Master said. "That would defeat the whole object of why I am here, Doctor."

"Why are you here?" the Doctor asked.

"You'll see," the Master smiled happily. He lowered the TCE. "You'll see."

He walked out.

The Doctor stared after him for a long time. They had been old friends, but now they were bitterest enemies. There were times when the Doctor imagined what it would be like if they were allies. Two men, sharing the same Baroque tastes, the same travellers zeal, the same outlook on their dusty old people. He had often imagined redoing the old TARDIS console room in some sort of wood panelling, with a nice silver console controls. His sort of thing.

Ah well. One day, in some distant future, perhaps, but not today.

--

Of course, the Cybermen came. They always did. And the Doctor won, as he always would. There had never been any doubt in anyone's mind. The Cybermen had been trounced. The forces of humanity and good and right and all that blah had won.

It made the Master sick. But, as Cooper and the Yank defenders congratulated the Doctor, and he asked for his TARDIS, the Master smiled to himself. Those were the days, weren't they? The days of goatee's and Nehru Collars. He almost missed them.

Almost.

--

The Third Doctor looked down the corridor at Jo, who was heading off to her bedroom.

Then, he leaned against the Console, and thought to himself.

That Master, that future Master, was something new. Unfettered almost. A new kind of madness in his mind – or at least, it felt new.

He idly wondered if his fights with his old nemesis would ever be the same.

--

It had been three months since the Third Doctor had come into the latest incarnation of the Master's life. Three months since the heroic defence of Fort Knox that had left thirty four American Soldiers dead, and another ten UNIT men with them. Three months since the Doctor had gone.

"I suppose you were some help," the Master had said.

"Yes," the Doctor smiled, grudgingly. "I suppose I was."

"I'll see you again," the Master said.

"I suppose," the Doctor smiled. "And I'm looking forward to it."

_'Oh Doctor, your foolishness astounds me'_, he thought to himself.

"Be careful what you wish for, Doctor," the Master had said. "You might just get it."

But he couldn't worry about the Doctor now.

He had an audience.

"Mr Prime Minister!" a journo yelled. "A quote please, sir!"

In a deliberately timed move, he kissed his wife, and she responded eagerly. Deluded cow.

"Mr Prime Minister!" another journo yelled.

"This country," he said, turning to the camera, "has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact," he smiled mischievously, "I'd go so far as to say that what this country needs, right now..."

And here he smiled at the camera, smiling for anyone he thought might be watching. He had his suspicions...

"... is a Doctor."

--

And in the centre of London, the Tenth Doctor watched Harold Saxon give his address.

"That's him," he said.

He couldn't believe it. It had been so long since he'd seen that face.

'You'll see', the Master had said to him. Yeah, he did see. He wasn't happy about it though.

--

**Never the End.**


End file.
